Over the Bay of Bengal, a low-pressure system will strengthen and reach Bangladesh and bordering West Bengal coasts as a severe cyclonic storm by Sunday evening, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday.
This pre-monsoon season, this is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. It is named Remal, according to a system of naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region. By Friday morning, the system will concentrate into a depression over the central Bay of Bengal, said IMD scientist Monica Sharma. On Saturday morning, it will further amplify into a cyclonic storm and reach Bangladesh and the adjoining West Bengal coast as a severe cyclonic storm by Sunday evening, she added.
Alert issued for fishermen
The Met office has alerted of very heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal, Mizoram, Tripura, south Manipur, and north Odisha. Fishermen out at sea have been advised to return to the coast and not go into the Bay of Bengal until May 27. Scientists say that due to warmer sea surface temperatures, cyclonic storms are strengthening rapidly and retaining their potency for longer periods.